When one thinks of top colleges, one might think of Harvard, Princeton, Yale, or any of the other ivies. It might come as a surprise to many, then, that Forbes recently ranked The United States Military Acadamy at West Point as the number 1 school in the country.

The venerable institution has produced sine a few presidents, a ton of engineers, a number of astronauts (not too many schools produce astronauts), and very many captains of industry. While a career in the military might not be for everyone (though officers coming out of any of the service academies do have decent starting salaries at ~$62,000 that increase with every promotion), the leadership taught at the academies, as well as the great brand name, certainly make any job candidate with West Point on their resume extremely promising. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that the schooling is entirely free, with the government picking up the tab. In fact, not only is it free, but each cadet at the academies are given a monthly stipend. And, of course, they have a gauranteed job lined up for them upon graduation, for five years at that.

Not everyone is fit for the rigorous discipline of the military academies. But, if you feel that you’re up to the physical, mental, and emotional stress that being in college AND the military at the same time places on you, West Point and the other military academies may be good colleges to look into.

View the Forbes article here

Do you want to have a head start in college applications? Does the admissions process seem daunting? Do you want to learn more about college life? Come join us at College Admissions: an Afternoon with the Experts to have your questions answered by students and professionals!

College Admissions: an Afternoon with the Experts will provide students and parents with unique insight and invaluable information on getting accepted. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear directly from admissions officers, alumni interviewers, college counselors, financial aid representatives, and current college students from top universities.

By attending the event, you will be able to…

* Listen to expert opinions on what it means to be a well-rounded student
* Listen to admissions officers talk about the application and financial aid process
* Interact with student representatives from top schools including Harvard, Stanford, Yale, MIT, Columbia, and more
* Learn about college majors and college life from university students

College Admissions: an Afternoon with the Experts will take place from 2:00pm – 5:00pm on Saturday, August 8, 2009 at Brooklyn Technical High School at 29 Fort Greene Place in Brooklyn, NY.

The event is FREE and open to everyone. All attendees will receive a free gift bag and Newsweek Magazine while supplies last.

For more information and event registration, please visit www.myCollegeSTAT.com/event
Join the Facebook event group http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/event.php?eid=121290891969

For students, fall of senior year means creating a list – the list – of schools to which applications will be sent in hopes of many happy returns.   There are some who make the list more consistently than others, Ivy leaguers, big state schools.  Some students’ lists have a catalog of small, private liberal arts colleges, and others read as rosters of the brightest in undergrad business.  The lists are not just compromised of heavy hitters; an entire class of less commonly mentioned colleges is drawing in a steady stream of desirable applicants: minority schools.

These colleges actively choose a population comprised of at least one third of students belonging to a specific ethnic or racial minority group.  Minority universities aim to mainstream students who may be marginalized elsewhere.  These schools are organized with a focus on the categories of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI), and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCU).  In the eyes of some they are evidence of a commonly accepted behavioral norm – minorities in America choosing to spend time primarily with people of the same race or ethnicity.

Some believe minority colleges contribute to an ongoing marginalization of minority students in higher education, creating pull for non-white students to decide against integrating into a majority Caucasian school.  Active, willful segregation of students based on race is still by definition segregation, even though it has received the stamp of approval from its minority community.  In a certain light, the minority college harkens back to a time where separate but equal was the only way, not a chosen way.

When interviewed, a Howard student stated that although she was aware of the potential downsides, she felt positive and confident in her college selection.  Howard is one of the most prominent and well-known historically black universities in the United States.  She cited tradition, her parents were alums, as well as a sense of belonging as being among her reasons for attending Howard. She expressed no major qualms about the education she has received there.  For her, racial lines define the community she wants to be a part of.

While the significance of racial and ethnic solidarity among minority groups should not be overlooked, diversity is an important goal to strive for in American colleges.  A valuable element of higher education is interaction between students with a variety of backgrounds and upbringings. Students potentially sacrifice this facet of the college experience by choosing to attend a minority school; they narrow, but do not necessarily close, their window of exposure to people from entirely different cultures. The choice to attend a nearly all-white college poses the same major problem. An equivalent issue may be seen among religiously affiliated schools.  Even if it does guarantee some form of solidarity among matriculates, limiting who may enroll means concurrently limiting the depth and breadth of the student body.  It could easily be argued that a student has the most to gain from crossing racial or religious lines and choosing to attend a school with a more mixed community.

Congratulations Seniors on getting into college.

Whether you got into your dream college or not, it is important that you take your time in making the best college decision. Most schools give you until May 1st to make a decision. It is to your advantage to do your due diligence and use your time to make a good decision for yourself and your family.

1) Visit the schools you are considering. Colleges usually have many open houses during the month of April. Sit in on a class and get a sense of the social scene at the school. You can always call the admissions office to ask about any open house programs or opportunities to visit.

2) Check your financial aid packages and make sure there are no errors. Call the financial aid office and make sure they have received all of the documents they need to make the best possible financial aid package. Also, financial aid can get reevaluated during this time period, so do not rule out a school for financial reasons until you are sure you have received their best offer.

3) Talk to alumni and students to get a sense of campus life. Ask them questions like what was there most memorable experience and if they had the option to redo college, would they still go to that college. Also, try to get as many opinions as possible and try to dig up things you don’t like about each college. Better now than later when you are enrolled and paying tuition. You can always ask questions on our forums!

Join in on our new online community. Our forums are focused on helping you decide what the best college is for you, helping you through your college admissions process, and having fun.

Log-in to participate in our interactive community if you are:
-looking into college admissions and college, in general
-worried the financial crisis means you can’t go to college
-interested in learning more about different college campuses and social scenes
-want to meet current college students, especially students from schools you are interested in
-just want to have a little fun
-and more!

Any questions, you can email me at dwong@mycollegestat.com

It’s that time of the year College applications are over and done with for first-year students, but are just beginning for some transfer students. More importantly though, it’s time to fill out your FAFSA (www.fafsa.ed.gov) and CSS profiles (www.collegeboard.com)! For most first-year students, financial aid applications are due Feb. 1st! Following that is the deadline to update your financial aid applications with accurate information from your IRS 1040 statements and the hassle of sending in copies of your tax forms to your school(s). Students re-applying for financial aid should check-in with their school for respective financial aid deadlines.

Fill out all your applications for financial aid for aid consideration. Don’t miss your opportunity to snag free money for college!

I attend Baruch College of the City University of New York. Most outside of New York City have never heard of it, though both Jennifer Lopez and Ralph Lauren attended and subsequently dropped out. That’s OK, I suppose. After all, we’re pretty well known within the city and respected for our business programs. Of particular pride for the school is that its [Graduate] Entrepreneurship program ranked 25th in the nation this year.

Hooray.

Let me clear one thing up. I believe strongly in entrepreneurship. I believe it’s part of what makes this country so great and I believe it’s all part of that great American Dream. And, I also happen to believe that the college environment lends itself to fostering entrepreneurship. We go to college for many reasons. Principally I’m told we go to learn how to learn, if that makes any sense to you. What better way to learn, than by actually going out and trying to do something. When you’re in college you don’t have the same liabilities as you do in ‘the real world’. You have loads of free time (even after studying and assignments). You have no house, no spouse, no kids, not much of anything really. You have nothing to lose. And you have everything to gain. That’s some pretty sweet upside.

One would think, then, that a school with a top ranked entrepreneurship program AND an entrepreneurship competition would encourage its students, regardless of age (or class), to take a stab at this creating businesses thing.

In our case, one would be wrong.

You see, I found out about the Baruch-Merrill Lynch Entrepreneurship Competition over the summer while I was interning at Merrill Lynch (great place to work despite all the headlines lately, btw). I thought, hey, this could be fun. So one of the first things I did when the school year started was to find out how I could join the competition. And then it went sour. I quickly found the rules page and saw that only juniors and up were eligible to apply. Thinking this was a bit strange, I contacted one Barry Dumas, who heads the program to see what was up.

What I got back was disheartening, to say the least.

You can be in the competition as a member of a qualifying team but you would not be a qualifying member.

Strange…I can be a part of another endeavor but I can’t have my own. I asked him why. The response back was chilling.

Freshman should concentrate on their education, not launching businesses

Yes, he spelled freshmen wrong. But besides that, his basic premise is simply outrageous. I was basically told that I could work my butt off for another person but I can’t do it for myself. I suppose it’s par for the course for a school that pumps out more middle management than any other school in the country, but that does not make it right. Should freshmen (look I can spell!) be worried about their grades? Sure. Should upperclassmen worry any less about their grades? I certainly hope not.

So why then should we exclude a certain group from an otherwise university-wide competition? There is no rational justification. After all, Baruch being a commuter school with NO student housing (implying most of the student population does not have to adjust to some new dorm life far away from home) does not exactly have the same college-y atmosphere as many other schools do. In fact, it’s only 2 more stops on the subway than my old high school commute.

This sends a horrible message. It says that, while the school may give lip service to a variety of student activities it offers its commuter students, it’s all a load of crap. It says the school does not really encourage entrepreneurship or other creative pursuits. And, worst of all, it says the school just does not get how it has students who are willing to spend time and effort outside of the classroom to learn and are being turned down.

That’s a freaking shame.

-Awad